BIOMASS ENERGY

Biomass is ‘carbon neutral’

 OECD share of total energy supply by source, 1973

OECD: Organization for

Economic Co-operation
and Development,
founded in 1961 (37
countries)
OECD share of total energy supply by source, 2019
BIOMASS SOURCES
 1. Field and plantation biomass
 Agricultural crop residues- Cobs, stalks, Straw,
Cane thrashes and etc
 Edible matters from crops-Environmentally spoiled
grains, pulses, fruits, nuts, spices, seeds and lint
etc
 Dedicated energy crops- Bamboo
 Plantation debris-Leaves, barks and trunks
 Livestock wastes from fields
2. Urban waste biomass
 Municipal solid wastes
 Sewage sludges
 Kitchen and canteen wastes
 3. Industrial biomass
 Agro-industrial processed biomass and their
wastes – Husk
 Oil cake
 Sugar molasses
 Hides and skin wastes
 Fruit and pulp debris Saw dust
 Wood pulp and paper shavings
 Fermented microbial mass etc
4. Forest biomass
 Log residues
 Timber
 Forest floor debris
 Animal carcass

5. Aquatic biomass
 Sea weeds (E.g. Kelp)
 Fresh water weeds (E.g. Water Hyacinth)
 Dead fishes
 Microalgae blooms
Utilization of Biomass
 Biomass Conversion

Direct Thermo chemical Biochemical

Combustion Conversion conversion

Gasification Pyrolysis

Anaerobic Fermentation
Digestion
 Direct Combustion
In a direct combustion system, biomass is burned in a
combustor or furnace to generate hot gas, which is fed
into a boiler to generate steam, which is expanded through
a steam turbine or steam engine to produce mechanical
or electrical energy.
Direct Combustion
• The direct combustion of biomass in presence of oxygen/air to
produce heat and by products is called direct combustion.

• The complete combustion of biomass into ash is

called incineration.

• This heat energy in the product gases or in the form of steam

can be used for various applications like space heating or
cooling, power generation process heating in industries or any
other application.

• However, if biomass energy by combustion is used as co

generation with conventional fuels, the utilization of biomass
energy makes it an attractive proposition.
Thermo-Chemical Conversion
Gasification- takes place by
heating the biomass with
limited oxygen / Air
(deficient O2 and Air) to
produce low heating value
gas or by reacting it with
steam & oxygen at high
pressure & temperature to
produce medium heating
value gas like H2,CO,CH4,N2
 Pyrolysis

It is the heating of biomass in a closed

vessel at temperatures in the range 500oC-
900oC in absence of O2/air or with steam. It
produces solid, liquid and gases.

The pyrolysis process can use all type of organic

materials including plastic and rubeers.
Pyrolysis is the
decomposing of
biomass (fresh or
fossil) by the heat of
anaerobic (reduced
air) combustion which
converts organic
material into gases
and/or fuel oils.
 Biochemical Conversion

In biochemical processes the bacteria and

micro organisms are used to transform the raw
biomass into useful energy like methane and
ethane gas. Following organic treatments are
given to the biomass:

1) Fermentation of biomass (Aerobic digestion)

2) Anaerobic digestion of biomass
 Fermentation

Fermentation is a process of decomposition

of complex molecules of organic compound
under the influence of micro-
organism(ferment) such as yeast, bacteria,
enzymes etc.

The example of fermentation process is

the conversion of grains and sugar crops into
ethanol and CO2 in presence of yeast.
Fermentation
 Anaerobic Digestion

The anaerobic digestion or anaerobic fermentation

process involves the conversion of decaying wet
biomass and animal waste into biogas through decomposition
process by the action of anaerobic bacteria.

The most useful biomass for production of biogas are

animal and human waste, plant residue and other
organic waste material with high moisture content.
Anaerobic Digestion
In other Words……
1. Anaerobic digestion involves the microbial
digestion of biomass. The process takes
place at low temperature up to 60oC &
requires a moisture content of at least
80%, and generates a gas consisting of CO2
& methane (CH4)
2. Fermentation is the breakdown of complex
molecules in organic compound under
influence of a ferment such as
Yeast, bacteria, enzymes etc.
 Biogas is the mixture of gases (primarily methane (CH4) and Carbon di-
oxide (CO2) and traces of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), Moisture) produced by
the decomposition/breakdown of bio-degradable organic matter in the
absence of oxygen from raw materials such as agricultural waste, cattle
dung, poultry droppings, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green
waste or food/kitchen waste. Biogas has a calorific value of about 5000 kcal
per m3. The digested slurry produced from Biogas Plants as a by-product is
a better source of nutrient enriched organic manure for use in Agriculture.
It not only helps in improving the crop yield but also maintain soil health.
 There is ample potential of setting up biogas plants in India considering the
livestock population of 512.06 million, which includes about 300 million
(299.98 million) total population of bovines (comprising of cattle, buffalo,
mithun and yak). The livestock sector contributes about significantly to
India’s GDP and will continue to increase. The dissemination of biogas
technology is a boon for Indian farmers with its direct and collateral
benefits.
Floating drum type biogas plant
Fixed dome type biogas plant
 Biogas contains about 55-65 % of methane, 35- 44 % of carbon dioxide and traces of
other gases, such as Hydrogen Sulphide, Nitrogen and Ammonia. Biogas, in its raw
form, that is without any purification, can be used as clean cooking fuel like LPG,
lighting, motive power and generation of electricity. It can be used in diesel engines to
substitute diesel up to 80% and up to 100% replacement of diesel by using 100%
Biogas Engines. Further, Biogas can be purified and upgraded up to 98% purity of
methane content to make it suitable to be used as a green and clean fuel for
transportation or filling in cylinders at high pressure of 250 bar or so and called as
Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG).
Global installed capacity of Biomass by 2010
BIOMASS POTENTIAL IN INDIA
India is a tropical country blessed with sunshine and rains and thus offers an ideal
environment for Biomass production. Further, the vast agricultural potential, also
makes available huge agro-residues to meet the energy needs. With an estimated
production of about 460 million tonnes of agricultural waste every year, Biomass is
capable of supplementing the coal to the tune of about 260 million tonnes. This
can result in a saving of about Rs. 250 billion, every year.

Sl No. Category Resources

1 Crop residue
2 Animal waste
3 Food processing waste
4 Wood waste
Bagasse (sugarcane residue), corn stalk, rice
hulls and rice straw, wheat straw, nutshells
Animal excrement (manure), animal by
product from processing
Potato waste, cheese whey waste, fruit pits,
leftover sludge
Any type of wood or wood based product
 Type of agro residues Quantity (million tonnes/year)

Straws of various pulses & cereals 225.50

Bagasse 31.00
Rice husk 10.00
Groundnut shells 11.10
Stalks 02.00
Various oil stalks 04.50
others 65.90
Total 350.00

Installed capacity of biomass power generation in India as

on 31.10.2020
Installed Capacity of Biomass 1826 MW
Installed Capacity of Bagasse Cogeneration 7547 MW
Installed Capacity of Non-Bagasse Cogeneration 772 MW
Total 10145 MW
Cogeneration In Sugar Mills
Sugar industry has been traditionally practicing cogeneration by using bagasse as a fuel.
With the advancement in the technology for generation and utilization of steam at high
temperature and pressure, sugar industry can produce electricity and steam for their
own requirements. It can also produce significant surplus electricity for sale to the grid
using same quantity of bagasse. For example, if steam generation
temperature/pressure is raised from 400oC/33 bar to 485oC/66 bar, more than 80 KWh
of additional electricity can be produced for each ton of cane crushed. The sale of
surplus power generated through optimum cogeneration would help a sugar mill to
improve its viability, apart from adding to the power generation capacity of the country.
States which have taken leadership position in implementation of bagasse
cogeneration projects are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
Andhra Pradesh. The leading States for biomass power projects are Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Biomass Gasifier based power production – Indian Scenario

 A small capacity (20 kW) one-top wood gasifier was setup at Hosahalli, Karnataka in
1988 to meet the following load demands: 2.68 kW of lighting load, 3 HP capacity
submersible pump connected to a deep tubewell and a 7.5 HP flour mill.

The 20 kW power package consisted of a gasification system and a diesel engine.

Since there was no other form of electricity available in the village, the diesel engine
had to be initially operated to start the gasification system and once gas generation was
ensured by flaring the gas in the burner, the gas was supplied to the engine and
operated in dual fuel mode.

 A 500 kW (5 x 100 kW) biomass gasifier – diesel engine based power plant was
commissioned in 1997 at Gosaba in Sundarban, West Bengal
The biomass gasification technology is theoretically an interesting option for
rural development. It promises:
 Sustainable conversion of locally available biomass into electricity for
local supplies
 A local value chain with income generation for the suppliers of the
biomass as fuel
 Incentives for reforestation.
Hence it will remain on the energy development agenda.
However, many severe challenges remain unsolved, especially for small
applications:
 There is no reliable technology readily available.
 High costs for technical development, repair and maintenance make it
unprofitable.
 Dangerous threats to the environment and to health exist due to
carcinogenic waste.
 As for all biomass based electrification technologies - the appropriate
management of such a complex system and the sustainable provision of
appropriate feedstock is needed
Biogas based power production – Indian Scenario
 Based on the initial estimated potential of 12.3 million Biogas plants, a
cumulative total of 50.28 Lakh family/small size biogas plants have been set up
in the country till 2018-19, under the National Project on Biogas Development
(NPBD), National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) and
New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme (NNBOMP).
 Biogas plants are reliable source of decentralized Renewable Energy for
heating, cooking as well as generating electricity/ power generation and
thermal energy application alternatives in our country.
 In order to promote this Decentralized Renewable Energy Source (DRES)
of power generation, specifically in the small capacity range (3 kW to 250
kW) and thermal energy for heating/cooling from the biogas produced from
Biogas plants of 30 M3 to 2500 M3 size, operated based on the availability of
required quantity of biodegradable organic waste(s), Govt of India has taken
up a number of initiatives since 2006 through through the State Renewable
Energy Agencies (SNAs), Biogas Development and Training Centres (BDTCs),
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and National Dairy
Development Board (NDDB).
 The organic bio-degradable wastes from various sources such as cattle
dung/ animal wastes, food & kitchen waste, poultry dropping waste,
agro-industry waste etc. are the feed stock for Biogas plants. These plants
are especially beneficial for meeting Off-grid Power requirements for
individual dairy and poultry plants, dairy co-operatives for operation of
dairy equipment and other electrical, thermal and cooling energy
requirements for plant operation. The installations of such biogas systems
replaces diesel in DG sets and also reduce the electricity bills of the
individual farmers/ beneficiary, entrepreneurs, dairy farmer, dairy co-
operatives thereby helping to increase the income of farmers/ end users.
The nutrient enriched organic bio-manure is another stream of income
generation from biogas projects and at the same time saving in the
expenditure of chemical fertilizers by reduction of use of chemical
fertilizers and other profitable ventures like organic farming.

 Cumulative production of biogas power (off-grid) as on 31.03.2019 is 8.9

MW only
Challenges faced by Biogas power plants
 Relatively low prices of fossil fuels
 Need to buy high quality components from industrialized
countries
 Unfavorable conditions for selling electricity
 Lack of awareness, capacity and experience preventing the
economic operation of infrastructure components.